The mass of our social difficulties, the majority of our seemingly insoluble problems, arise from the fact that in the Western world (and particularly in Canada) we have engineered a rights-based society rather than a responsibility-based one.

The social contract between the governed and the government, between authority and citizenry, has become degraded and unbalanced. Instead of asking what our duty or responsibility might be in any given situation, we demand to know what are our privileges and rights.

Fraud occurred at the highest levels. The missing billions, it was widely alleged, went in kickbacks from oil contracts. The US State Department said wealth was ?concentrated in the hands of a small elite, who often used government positions for massive personal enrichment.? Ten Angolans had fortunes exceeding US$100 million, reported Angolense, a Luanda newspaper, while another 49 had more than US$50 million. Topping the rich list was President José Eduardo Dos Santos, Angolense said, followed by a parliamentary deputy, two officials in the president?s office, an ambassador, a former army chief of staff, and the minister of public works. The seven richest Angolans were all in the government.

The mass of our social difficulties, the majority of our seemingly insoluble problems, arise from the fact that in the Western world (and particularly in Canada) we have engineered a rights-based society rather than a responsibility-based one.

The social contract between the governed and the government, between authority and citizenry, has become degraded and unbalanced. Instead of asking what our duty or responsibility might be in any given situation, we demand to know what are our privileges and rights.

Fraud occurred at the highest levels. The missing billions, it was widely alleged, went in kickbacks from oil contracts. The US State Department said wealth was ?concentrated in the hands of a small elite, who often used government positions for massive personal enrichment.? Ten Angolans had fortunes exceeding US$100 million, reported Angolense, a Luanda newspaper, while another 49 had more than US$50 million. Topping the rich list was President José Eduardo Dos Santos, Angolense said, followed by a parliamentary deputy, two officials in the president?s office, an ambassador, a former army chief of staff, and the minister of public works. The seven richest Angolans were all in the government.